Blow-off apparatus for locomotive boilers



Feb. 7, 1939.

W. H. HINSCH BLOW-OFF APPARATUS FOR LOCOMOTIVE BOILERS Filed July 20, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet l jlmidart' W H. HINSCH Feb. 7, 1939.

BLOW-OFF APPARATUS FOR LOCOMOTIVE BOILERS Filed July 20, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Muzm' fim/ a mm Feb. 7, 1939. I H HI SCH 2,146,144

BLOW-OFF APPARATUS FOR LOCOMOTIVE BOILERS Filed July 20, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BLOW-OFF APPARATUS FOR LOCOMOTIVE BOILERS poration of Illinois Application July 20, 1936, Serial No. 91,510

Claims.

This invention relates-to improvements in blowoff apparatus for locomotive boilers and it consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended 5 claims.

One ofthe-objects of the present invention is to provide a blow-off apparatus for locomotive boilers operative continuously to discharge boiler water afterthe throttle lever has been opened to-and beyo-nd acertain position approximating drifting speed for the locomotive.

A further-object of-the invention is to provide in-ablow-off apparatus of this kind an improved self-closing trip valve and operating means there-for associated with the throttle lever, whereby said-valve may be easily actuated and chattering prevented when open.

The above mentioned objects of the invention, aswell as others, will more fully appear as the specification proceeds.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is aview in side elevation of a blow-off apparatus embodying the invention as applied to a locomotive boiler and associated parts, the latter appearing in dotted'lines;

Fig. 2 is a view in end elevation of the parts appearing in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation on an enlarged scale of parts associated with the throttle valve for operating the trip valve;

Fig; .4 is a plan viewof parts appearing in Fig. 3;

Fig.- 5 is a vertical sectionalview through the trip valve of the apparatus on an enlarged scale as takenon the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is'a top plan view of the blow-off valve also on anenlarged scale;

Fig; 7 is a view in side elevation of the blow-01f valve, withparts broken away better to illustrate internalpartsthereof, as will later appear;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through a part oft-he blow-off valve as taken on the line 8"'-8- of Fig. 7', and

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view through another part of the blow-off valve as taken on the line-9--9 of "Fig. 7.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, It indicatesas awhole a locomotive having a boiler ll including agfirebox I 2, side water legs l3 and a. rear water, leg M. The cab of the locomotive is;:ind icatedat Hand theashpan'is indicated at It. Allof. these parts are-arranged in the conventionatmanner.

; Inthacab of. the locomotive, the throttle lever I1 is located, pivoted at. I la to a bracket I 8 on the boiler shell and which bracket also supports the associated quadrant IS. The throttle lever carriesa latch 20. and latch lever 2|. Through these parts, the throttle lever may be locked 5 in the position giving the desired throttle opening. The lever I7 includes an arm 22 to which one end of the throttle rod or stem 23 is operatively connected, sliding through the bracket 18 and leading to the throttle valve (not shown). 0 When the lever I1, which as herein shown, is arranged substantially in a vertical plane, is swung in one direction or the other, the throttle valve is opened or closed in the manner well known.

Attached to the throttle lever bracket is a sec- 15 0nd bracket 24. for supporting a trip valve 25. Said valve includes a hollow valve body 26 with opposed inlet and outlet ends 2!28 and opposed but aligned threaded extensions 29 and 30 respectively, disposed in a plane at a right angle to the inlet and outlet ends. In the hollow body between the inlet and outlet ends is a partition 31 in which is secured a ring 32 formed to provide a tapered seat associated with the inlet side of the valve body. The valve body 26 is 25 disposed with its inlet and outlet ends arranged in a vertical plane, with the inlet end uppermost. The threaded extension 29 passes through a suitable hole in the bracket 24 and a nut 33 is provided on said extension to clamp against said 3'? bracket to secure the valve in position with respect to said bracket.

34 indicates the tapered valve member of the trip valve which is adapted to engage the tapered seat in the ring 32.. This valve member includes 35 a stem 35 having sliding guided engagement in a cap 36 secured to the extension 351 by a nut 31.

A washer 38 is associated with the valve member 34 and a helical extension spring 38a is interposed betweensaid Washer and the cap 36 4o normally to hold the valve member closed upon its seat.

Slidable in the extension 29 of the valve body 26, is a valve operating stem or spindle 39 having an inner end of reduced diameter engaged with 4, the valve member 34. Mounted on the stem is a packing box gland 40 coacting with packing material 4| in a cavity in the extension 29. A nut 42 is threaded on the extension 29 and between the nut and gland is a spring 43. By means of the nut, the tension of the spring and resultant pressure on the packing material 4| may be controlled. This reduces the friction around the spindle and provides for ease in operation. When the spindle is depressed inwardly of the valve positions of the throttle lever H.

extension, it forces the valve member 34 off: its seat against the action of the spring 38a and opens the valve. Upon the release of pressure upon the valve spindle, the spring 38a operates to close the valve. Thus the trip valve is a selfclosing one.

The inlet end 21 of the valve is connected by a steam line 44 to the turret (not shown) of the boiler and in this line is a valve 45 (see Fig. 1) for controlling the passage of steam therethrough. The outlet end 28 of said valve is connected by a line 44a to a blow-off valve hereinafter described.

The trip valve is adapted to be opened and closed in timed relation with respect to certain To accomplish the opening of the trip valve, a lever-like arm 46 is employed. The arm is provided at a point between its ends with a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes 46a. A pin 41 may be passed through the desired hole and through apertured ears 2411 (see Fig. 4) on the bracket 24 to pivotally connect the arm to the bracket. When the arm is thus mounted on the bracket, one end of said arm engages the end of the spindle or stem 39 of the trip valve. The extremity of said end has guided engagement between said lugs 241) on said bracket.

The other end of said arm is disposed in close proximity to the plane of the throttle lever I1 and about midway of said end is carried a roller 48. When the throttle lever is swung into a position to open the throttle, it engages the roller and swings the arm end laterally outward. This swings the other end of said arm laterally inward and depresses the valve spindle 39 to open. the trip valve. The'roller 48 is so located with respect to the throttle lever as to permit actuation of the throttle to drifting speeds for the locomotive, without engaging the roller so that the trip valve remains closed at such speeds. By reason of the plurality of holes 46a in said arm, the arm may be adjusted longitudinally with respect to the bracket 24 to set the roller 48 to give the desired adjustment for opening. the trip valve at the proper position of the throttle lever When the throttle lever is actuated to open the throttle to a position wherein the locomotive is working steam, it will engage the roller in the arm to open the trip valve and will hold the arm in a position holding the trip valve open.

When the throttle lever is swung in the other direction to drifting speed or off, the pressure on the trip valve spindle is released and the valve closes under the action of the spring 38a in said valve. By reason of the use of the roller, an antifriction engagement is provided between the throttle lever I1 and arm 46 at the time when the resistance of opening the trip valve is imposed upon the throttle lever. Therefore the throttle lever is easier to manipulate for its intended purpose when the trip valve is to be opened. 7 7

As before stated, the line 44a leading from the outlet end or side of the trip valve is connected to an automatic blow-off valve and which valve is herein indicated as a whole by the numeral 5%. This valve is disposed near the rear bottom end corner of the right hand side water leg of the boiler. It comprises a one piece casing or hollow body in which is formed chamber 5|, the body having a hollow lateral extension 52 that terminates in a bolting flange 53 carrying a joint ring 55. This ring is adapted to engage in a suitable hole 55 in the outer sheet of the associated side water leg and bolts 56 pass through A valve stem 63 has a threaded engagement in said sleeve and carries a head 64 at its bottom end for engagement on the seat as provided by the valve ring 59. The top end of the sleeve 62 carries a stumng box arrangement 65 through which the stem 63 extends, the extremity of said stem outside the arrangement mentioned, being squared to receive a wrench or other operating member. When the valve head'is engaged on the ring seat, communication between the passage 51 and chamber 5| is shut off so that no boiler water can pass into said chamber from the boiler. When. said valve head is off said seat, the said passage and the said chamber arebroughtinto communication with each other so that boiler water may pass into said chamber.

The body of the valve casing is further formed with an upright tubular boss 65 which is closed at its top and bottom ends by screw caps or plugs 55 and 61, respectively- The vertical axis of said boss is ofiset inwardly from the horizontal axis of the chamber 5|. In the bottom end of the boss a chamber 68 is formed and in that wall of the casing body separating the chamber 68 from the chamber 5| an orifice nipple 69 is threaded. This nipple which controls the amount or volume of boiler water passing through the blow-off valve when open, has a projectile type of nose arranged in the chamber 5| to prevent the closure ofthe orifice by accumulation of foreign particles such as boiler scale. That end of the chamber 5| opposite the orifice nipple is closed by a screw cap.

'or plug 10 of such'size as to permit access to the nipple for removal in changing or replacing the same.

for draining the chamber. This cock permits of a convenient drawing off of a more representative sample of the boiler water. The nipple 69 is so disposed that its orifice opens tangentially into the chamber 68 in the bottom of the boss 65.

Threaded into the boss 65, is a cylinder sleeve 12 with a tapered seat 13, and a valve seat ring 14 spaced apart by a chamber 15. The ring 14 defines a downwardly facing seat against which a spherical valve member I6 is normally held by a spring 11 carried by the plug or cap 61. It is to be noted from Fig. 9 that the orifice nozzle 69 discharges its jet tangentially into the chamber 68 so as to scour the walls thereof to keep them free of accumulation of scale or the like. With the tangential arrangement mentioned, janother advantage is present in that the jet from the ori- '65 member 16 or its seat to pit or otherwise damage fice nozzle does not discharge upon the valve In the bottom of that part of the casing body defining the chamber 5| is a drain cock iylihderf and the rise 44d feedp' as '25 is e we The'piston is provided with spawn ens-s nlike stem 80 for engagement with the ball valve member 16; When the p ton is wardly "said valve me ber against the action of the spring 11; t6 openfio'm- .munication between the chambers 68 and 15, the latter chamber being the 'on from which b dil'e'r water is discharged as will soon ppm-i The piston is further provided with top encgmde extension a which slides in a guide recess-p2 pro; vided thereior in the"toii'ciap brpic'gse, In said extension '81 he snail groiive" as through which steam may bleed to prevent the refineries or a vacuous condition in said recess "effecting the 'operation of the piston; c I

Threaded into the boss 65 in commu ication with the chamber 15 is one end of the discharge pipe 84 fort-he blow-off vaiv'e a who1e. This pipe leads to a steam sparatorindicated as a whole as at 85 and which-is carried upon a part of the side frame of the locomotive adjacent the ashpan 16 (see Fig. 2) separator includes a hollow cylindrical body 86 closedby suitable top and bottom heads '8'! and 88 respectively. Within the body and supported by and depending coaxially from the head 8;"! is a tubular skirt 89.

Opening tangentially into the top and bottom ends of the body '86 and facing in opposite directions are water inlet andoutlet nipples 90 and 9'! respectively, the pipe 84' we e mentioned, being In vee; mm

. connected to the inlet mp'meso. A "dia'in pipe 92 is connected tothe nipple 91 for conducting water from the separator to discharge upon the road bed.

A steam conducting pipe as ie'aas from the axis of the head 8'l and is so formed to discharge steam into the ashp'an. p

The operation of the newer: appaiatus above described is as follows? I When the throttle lever J'Ii'stih Oiff position, wherein the associate throttle veh re is closed, it is apparent that the leveris eat or en'- gagement with the arm use that the trip-valve is closed. When t eme valve is "thus close the blow-oh valve is likewise closed. ssume, new ever, that the valve 45 in the line 4411's open "and that the shut-"off Valve 63 64 of the blow-err valve, as a Whole, isin its normally open condition.

When the throttle lever is swung clockwise as in Fig. 1, it starts opening the throttle for delivery of steam to the locomotive driving cylinders.

The initial movement of said lever produces the slow or drifting speeds for the locomotive. As the lever passes beyond this point, it engages the roller 48 in the long arm of the lever 46 and pushes the same outward, causing the shorter end of the arm to swing inward. As this last mentioned end of the arm is engaged with the spindle 38 of the trip valve, it depresses the same and this pushes the valve member 34 off its seat against the'action of the spring 38a. Steam under boiler pressure then enters the trip valve 25 from its inlet end or side 21 to pass through the valve ring 32 to the outlet end or side 28 and into the line 44a. As said line is connected to the blowoii valve, steam under boiler pressure enters into that space in the hollow boss 65 between the cylincler sleeve 12 and cap or plug 66 to build up a pressure on the top side of the piston 18. This forces the piston downwardly until its beveled bottom end engages the seat 13 in the sleeve 12. Due to the provision of the small groove 83 in the extension 8| of the piston, steam enters into the reeessizabove said ekten'sion and this prevents the formation of any vacuous condition in said recess to exert a holding back action on said extension and its piston.

In the downward movement of the piston, its stem 80 forces the ball valve 16 downwardly off its seats in the ring 14. The blow-01f valve is now open so'that boiler water in the right hand side water leg, under boiler steam pressure, enters the passage 51. From said passage, said water passes through the valve seat ring 59 into the chamber and then passes through the orifice in the nozzle S9 for discharge as a continuous jet, tangentially into the chamber 68 in the bottom end of the valve boss 65. Due to the entrance of the jet tangentially into said chamber, it cannot impinge upon the ball valve but acts to scour the walls of said chamber clean.

As the valve member 16 is being held off its seat by the piston stem 80, the water passes throughfthejvalve ring 14 into the chamber 15. Due to the differenti'al areas of the ends of the piston 18. the pressure of the water in said chamberi's ineffective to lift the piston, so that the water passes out through said chamber 15 into the p pe 84. This water is conducted to the inlet end of the separator 85 and due to its pressure release" therein, a part is generated into steam. Such water as'ent'ers' the separator follows around the inside of its casing wall with a centrifugal action, thus forcing the steam inwardly to pass under the skirt 89 therein for 'a discharge out throughthe pipe 93 into the ashpan i6 beneath the grates of the firebox. As the water passing around the inside of the separator 85 approaches the bottom end thereof, it enters the drain pipe 92 for wayside discharge.

It is to be borne in mind that the trip valve is held open by reason of the engagement of the throttle lever with the arm 46 at all speeds beyond locomotive drifting speed, and this in turn holds the blow-off valve constantly open. Thus there is a continuous blow-off or discharge of foulboiler water, the volume of which is controlled by the diameter of the orifice in the nozzle 69 of the blow-off valve.

The continuous passage of boiler water through the nozzle orifice mentioned, produces a wear thereon which enlarges the diameter of said orifice. This, of course, increases the volume of discharge to one above the desired volume. To remedy this condition, requires the replacement of the worn nozzle by a new one.

With the locomotive under steam but with the throttle closed, the valve stem 63 is manipulated to cause its head 64 to engage on the seat of the ring 59 and this closes off the blow-01f valve. The plug 10 at the end of the chamber 5| is then removed to give access to the nozzle 69. By means of a suitable socket Wrench the worn orifice nozzle 69 is unscrewed and removed and a new one with a proper size orifice is substituted. At this time, the chamber 5| may be cleaned out to rid it of any scale and like accumulation and the plug 10 is then replaced. Thus it is apparent that the nozzle may be removed and a new one substituted therefor without a shut-down of the locomotive. The apparatus may be made ready for future operation merely by opening the shut-off valve 6364 to provide communication between the passage 51 and chamber 5|.

It is apparent that with the construction described, parts of the blow-off valve may be readily removed and replaced without requiring boiler ,shut-down and withoutremoving the blow-off valve or injuring the same.

The roller arrangement on the trip valve arm, reduces friction against the throttle lever. This makes the throttle lever easier to operate and it also makes the trip action of the valve more rapid and reduces the tendency to wire draw.

, While in describing the invention, I have referred in detail to the form, arrangement and construction of the various parts thereof, the same is to be considered only in the illustrative sense so that I do not wish to be limited thereto except as may be specifically set forth'in the appended claims. A

vI claim as my invention: 1

1. A continuous blow-off apparatus for locomotive boiler embodying therein a member for actuating a steam throttle for the main cylinders of the locomotive, a blow-off valve including pressure responsive means, a steam line connected to the boiler and to the pressure responsive means of the blow-off valve respectively, for actuating the latter, a trip valve in said steam line for controlling passage of steam to the blow-off valve, a member for opening the trip valve and having a portion so disposed as to be engaged by and actuated in the movement of said first mentioned member beyond a predetermined position thereof, one of said members including an anti-friction roller for engagement by the other in the movement of said first mentioned member to said predetermined position.

2. A continuous blow-ofi apparatus for locomotive boiler embodying therein a member for actuating a steam throttle for the main engine cylinders of the locomotive, a blow-off valve including pressure responsive means, a steam line connected to the boiler and to the pressure responsive means of the blow-off valve respectively, for actuating the latter, a trip valve in said steam line for controlling passage of steam to the blowoff valve, and a member for opening the trip valve and carrying a roller adapted to be engaged by said first mentioned member in its movement into said first mentioned position to cause it to impart an opening movement to the trip valve.

3. In a blow-off apparatus for locomotive boilers, a steam line leading from the boiler, a trip valve in said line and including a normally closed spring pressed valve stem, a throttle lever for the main engine cylinders of the locomotive ,pivotally mounted for movement from throttle closing position to throttle opening position, means cooperating with the throttle lever for holding it in any of its positions, a trip valve actuating lever pivoted at a point between its ends and operatively engaged atone end with said valve stem and having its other end arranged adjacent the plane of the movement of the throttle lever, and means on one of said levers operating in the swinging movement of the throttle lever at a point between throttle closing and throttle opening positions to engage said other end of the trip valve actuating lever to cause its first mentioned end to depress the stem of the trip valve to open the same.

4. In a blow-ofi apparatus for locomotive boilers, a steam line leading from the boiler, a trip valve in said line and including a normally closed spring pressed valve stem, a throttle lever for the main engine cylinders of the locomotive pivotally mounted for movement from throttle closing position to throttle opening position, means cooperating with the throttle lever for holding it in any of its positions, a tripvalve actuating lever, means providing an adjustably pivotal mounting for the mid portion of said trip valve actuating lever with respect to said trip valve stem, said lever including an arm engaged with said valve stem and a second arm with a portion arranged adjacent the plane of the movement of the throttle lever, and means on one of said levers operating in the swinging movement of the throttle lever at a point between throttle closing and throttle opening positions to engage said sec- 7 0nd arm to cause the first mentioned arm to depress the valve stem to open the trip valve.

5. In a blow-ofi apparatus for locomotive boilers, a steam line leading from the boiler, a trip valve in said line andincluding a normally closed spring pressed valve stem, a throttle lever for the main engine cylinders of the locomotive pivotally mounted for movement from throttle closing position to throttle opening position, means cooperating with the throttle lever for holding it in any of its positions, and a roller carried by the other end of the trip valve actuating lever and engageable by said throttle for causing the first mentioned end of said trip valve actuating lever to depress said valve stem to open the trip valve;

7 WALTER HINSCI-I. 

